Sister of the Bride

I truly don't understand all the hate for this movie. If you are a fan of Hallmark movies, then you will enjoy this. It's sweet. And a little different. Usually we get to see them meet, and fall in love within a span of a couple of weeks -this movie shows what happens after. The couple has already met. But they get a little bit of grief from the parents thinking that they're moving too fast. Kind of a nicer Meet The Focker's LOL the acting is lovely. I don't know what people are complaining about. It was an enjoyable two hours.

This review is not coming from someone who regularly hates on Hallmark films and hates all of them. Have actually been surprised by many, and a lot of my ratings have indicated average and above. The premise to 'Sister of the Bride' though was not that appealing, but saw it anyway for Hallmark completest sake and also because of liking Becca Tobin and especially Michael Gross in other films and finding them redeeming qualities in those.

Neither sadly are redeeming qualities here, quite the opposite. 'Sister of the Bride' may not be among the worst that Hallmark ever did, but of their very inconsistent to not particularly output that year it is very close to being down there in my view. Despite being very formulaic sounding, the premise did actually have some potential. All that potential sadly is wasted in the film not executing most of its components well at all.

Only the beautiful scenery and some nice photography comes off well in 'Sister of the Bride'.

Everything else is a waste of time. Tobin tries too hard as a character who tries too eagerly to be as flawless as possible and it never looks natural, while Ryan Rottman is very stiff and uncharismatic. The chemistry between them just isn't there either, too much of a disconnect. Don't expect Gross to be a redeeming quality, he has been in a lot of bad films and can be a redeeming quality but he is wasted by a character that is so obnoxious and he tries so hard to make the character work but it comes over as over-compensating. Beth Broderick comes off least badly of the cast and even she lacks subtlety.

All the characters are difficult to connect with, none of them are developed that well and the film either tries to make the characters too perfect or exaggerates their flaws (both extremes are obvious here). The dialogue is very awkward sounding and cheesy throughout, the music is forgettable at best and can be overbearing, the direction is going through the motions like and the story is formulaic and drags on and on.

Pretty poor film and very little works other than the production values. 2/10.

7.0 stars.

Evidently a bunch of people who have critiqued this film had expectations for some reason. Maybe it's the lead actors, there's no doubt they are both very pretty people. The secondary cast are also very well adjusted actors. Michael Gross has a vast history of being in a multitude of random films and TV shows. He has proven his worth on screen. The plot is average however, the movie is enjoyable enough for me to give it a solid seven. I enjoyed the interactions between all the family members. The male lead trying to impress soon to be father-in-law is priceless. The setting is nice and the production value is sufficient. It's the charisma of all the actors that makes this a good film. Don't listen to or heed the previous reviews, go into this with no expectations and you might enjoy yourself.

This one really dragged along. The Dad was horribly obnoxious. You wondered what idiotic thing he'd say next. The young Guys were really plastic. I don't think there facial muscles ever moved.

I really did enjoy this one mostly because I really did not see how they were going to solve the dilemma that was threatening main couple's relationship. Stephanie and Ben both had successful careers in Academia. Stephanie is on the brink of obtaining tenure as a professor at her college, and Ben had just won a prestigious position at Oxford University to work under his idol. They were either going to put their engagement on hold and separate to pursue their equally beloved careers, or one of them was going to have to sacrifice their dream and hard work and talents in order to be together. Being a Hallmark romance, putting their relationship on hold was unthinkable. But how were they going to resolve this? Personally, I was all "go to England, girl!" But I knew it was a bad idea for her big chance for tenure. and that would have sent a bad message, really.

The other conflict was with her father, played by Michael Gross. He didn't approve of the engagement because they had only dated 6 months. His behavior was contemptible. Very sulky and controlling in a passive-aggressive sort of way. A Grade "A" jerk. Then there was her sister, who had also gotten engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years and had a wedding to plan in less than a month. Then there was the parents selling the beloved family "vacation home" . Which was a McMansion in a subdivision in Palm Springs. Weird.

So there was a lot going on, and all of the threads were handled very well, with even a teeny tiny bit of humor thrown in. Becca Tobin was excellent and the actor who played her fiance was competent. Everyone else was likable (both actors and their characters) except the Michael Gross character who very annoying, as he was supposed to be, I guess.